This application includes a Microfiche appendix for Appendices A and B. The Microfiche appendix consists of five (5) microfiche showing 311 frames (including target and title frames).
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system for management of cutting machines.
2. Description of Relevant Materials
Presently, management of cutting machines (e.g., band saws, etc.) is usually carried out on a relatively inflexible basis. Management, in this context, refers to the monitoring of cutting machines, cutting elements, jobs, and users, the collection and analysis of data, and intervention taken to address problems or requests.
Typically, a facility employing several cutting machines will use pencil and paper, or, at best, use computing tools in an ad-hoc fashion to manage their equipment, tool inventory, and work flow. Historical and current status data are not collected and stored in an easily accessible manner, nor can such data be easily organized and centralized.
Programmable band saw systems, in which job programs may be downloaded from a supervisor""s computer on-site, are known (e.g., U.S. Pat. No. 5,418,729, xe2x80x9cCommunication Linkage System for Programmable Bandsawxe2x80x9d, issued May 23, 1995). These band saw systems also permit the retrieval of limited saw and job programming information from the band saw to the supervisor""s computer, as well as contemporaneous programming of jobs from the supervisor""s computer and/or the bandsaw itself while a job is running. The systems also permit simple conflict detection of job number assignment, and restricted access to saw function values. However, the known systems have many shortcomings for the overall management of a facility or multiple facilities.
The known systems connect the programmable logic controllers (PLCs) of multiple bandsaws to a single general purpose computer, typically operated by a supervisor. The programmable controllers have specific programming installed at the (saw maker""s) factory level, and a limited interface device having only a numeric and function keypad and a LCD display having one or two lines of character output. The user interface is therefore static and inflexible, and may not be changed without drastic system overhaul such as replacing the PLCs at each saw. Moreover, only saws specifically designed to interact with the system may be used. The connections to the supervisor computer are over dedicated serial lines, which may not share bandwidth with other signals. Only a rudimentary PLC microprocessor and central computer are contemplated, and the enabling software designed for each microprocessor to permit interaction may only function on the contemplated processor.
No external connections are contemplated, so consultation with the manufacturer or interaction with sales and service providers is impossible. At the same time, management of machines, jobs, and blade inventory at diverse facilities is not facilitated by the known systems. No archiving of data for management purposes, whether locally or available to privileged off-site users, is contemplated. At best, querying of existing machines or jobs involves stepping through a list of assigned job numbers.
Monitoring functions are similarly limited. The distribution of work flow and inventory controls may only be performed from the central computerxe2x80x94a supervisor on the shop floor may not access the system at a supervisor access level, nor would the supervisor enjoy the same monitoring and editing capabilities found at the supervisor station.
Furthermore, although such systems purport to improve work flow, efficiency, and inventory control, they do not contemplate control or management of cutting elements. No data on cutting elements is kept or may be accessed. Since each saw or cutting machine uses replaceable blades or cutting elements, the improper management of which results in work flow bottlenecks, work stoppages, and potential damage to cutting machines and workpieces, the absence of any control over cutting elements in the known systems permits numerous and chronic work flow interruptions.
3. Acronyms
The following is a listing of acronyms used throughout the following disclosure of the present invention.
The system for management provides unexpected benefits for different interested partiesxe2x80x94each facility employing cutting machines, a company with several facilities, and the manufacturer of cutting machines.
According to a first aspect of the invention, a system for management of cutting machines and allocation of jobs among the cutting machines, includes a plurality of cutting machines, each cutting machine having a monitor input device through which monitor data indicating the status of the cutting machine is input, and a plurality of virtual machine components for collecting the monitor data, each virtual machine component corresponding to a cutting machine. A database serving component that communicates with the machine monitoring component, records and reads descriptive data including a machine table for describing the cutting machines and a job table describing jobs to be performed on the cutting machines, associates the job table with the machine table, and for records and reads usage data derived from the monitor data and descriptive data. A machine monitoring component retrieves the monitor data from all of the plurality of virtual machine component and generates the usage data, and provides the monitor data and usage data to the database serving component. A user interface serving component communicates with the database serving component and the machine monitoring component, and serves dynamic interactive user interface elements containing portions of the usage data, monitor data and identifying data. The content of the dynamic interactive user interface elements is different depending on the content of the usage data, monitor data and descriptive data. At least one user interface interpreting component displays the dynamic interactive user interface elements.
In this manner, the system is distributed, and the operative components may be placed at any processor in the facilityxe2x80x94e.g., all components may run and interact on a single processor, or separate but networked components may be provided on individual processors for each cutting machine, for a machine monitor, for a database server, for a web server, and for client browsers. Two or more of the components may be provided on the same processor when such a configuration takes advantage of existing facility layout. Since the monitoring components (particularly the virtual machine components, and machine monitor component) are platform-independent, the present system may be applied to a system of diverse manufacturer""s cutting machines, as a special purpose data interface is not required.
A further feature of the invention is that each of the plurality of virtual machine components, the machine monitoring component, the database serving component, the user interface serving component, and at least one user interface interpreting component has an identity, and communication in the system is addressed according to the identity independently of physical location. In this case, optionally, in response to a request from the user interface interpreting component, the user interface serving component retrieves the monitor data from the machine monitor component and serves a monitoring user interface including the monitor data to the user interface interpreting component. Alternatively or additionally, in response to a conditioned query from the user interface interpreting component, the user interface serving component communicates with the database serving component, the database serving component sends records complying with the conditioned query to the user interface serving component, and the user interface serving component serves a result user interface including the complying records to the user interface interpreting component.
In a preferred embodiment, when a job record in the job table and a machine record in the machine table correspond, the user interface serving component generates a job usage record in a job usage table indicating a paired machine and record.
In another preferred embodiment, the database further includes an alert table specifying alert conditions in the job table and the machine table, and whenever the user interface serving component serves a user interface to the at least one user interface interpreting component, the user interface serving component checks the alert table and attaches an alert indicator to specified records in the job table and the machine table meeting the alert conditions, the user interface interpreting component interpreting the alert indicator. In this manner, alerts are provided and are accessible and configurable on a distributed basis, permitting rapid response to any problems.
Preferably, the monitor data includes operating data representative of settings of each machine. Alternatively or additionally, the monitor data includes load detection data that indicate the operating load on the machine. Still further, the monitor data may include interlock detection data that indicate whether the machine is capable of running or is locked and prevented from running.
Preferably, the system includes a plurality of microprocessors connected via a network for running the components, each of the components hosted by one of the microprocessors, and the components communicate with each other via a network transport layer of the network.
The machine monitor component may generate the virtual machines according to the machine table for describing the cutting machines. In this manner, the monitoring components, especially the virtual machine components, are sent over the network to operate at the destination processorxe2x80x94and therefore may be updated, reset, or custom configured without visiting the hosting processor physically.
In one implementation, each virtual machine component runs on a separate processor at the corresponding machine. In this case, the separate processor at the corresponding machine preferably further runs one of the at least one user interface interpreting components. Alternatively or additionally, the monitor input device may include a data acquisition device for acquiring data connected to a plurality of detectors on the cutting machine, each data acquisition device being controlled by the corresponding separate processor.
In another implementation,the database serving component and user interface serving component are run on a same processor. In this case, the same processor may further runs the machine monitor component.
In another aspect of the invention, a cutting machine management network system, includes a variable number of instrumented cutting machines, each cutting machine including a processor with a virtual machine component that scans instrumentation on the cutting machine and maintains status information representative of the status of the instrumentation. A database server maintains a database of descriptive information describing the instrumented cutting machines and that is responsive to queries. A machine monitor is networked to each instrumented cutting machine, the machine monitor including a processor with a machine monitor component that scans the virtual machine components and maintains a status array including the status information from each virtual machine component. A web server processes requests from distributed clients and serves hypertext documents. A dynamic content server interprets dynamic content markup documents including code segments, queries the database server to retrieve the descriptive information, retrieving the status array from the machine monitor, and generating hypertext documents in response to requests from the distributed clients and internal interpretation of the code segments. The hypertext documents include differing user interaction elements and displayed information depending on the content of the descriptive information and the status array.
In this manner, the user interface provided at each browser station is flexible and changes according to access level and served data. In this manner, for each facility employing at least one (usually several) cutting machines, the system permits the monitoring and process management of work status and work flow from anywhere within the facility but also prevents inappropriate access. Since the same protocol is used for the facility system and the Internet at large, communications and -access are provided at all levels (facility-wide communications as well as extra-facility communications from any client browser at which a privileged user logs in).
Further preferably, the descriptive data includes a cutting element table describing consumable cutting elements for the cutting machines, and wherein each job record and each machine record is selectively associated with a cutting element record, and the machine monitor component generates a cumulative running value for each cutting element record representative of the amount of use of a corresponding cutting element of the cutting machine. Still further preferably, the descriptive data includes a user table describing users of the system and operators of the machine and wherein each job record and each machine record is selectively associated with an operator record. In this manner, machine usage is also monitored and controlled, for example, job, blade, or personnel scheduling conflicts may be reviewed via the system.
In still another aspect of the invention, a cutting machine management network system includes a plurality of replaceable cutting elements for shaping workpieces, and a variable number of cutting machines in which a cutting element may be installed to shape workpieces, each cutting machine associated with a processor having a virtual machine component that scans at least cutting element status on the cutting machine and maintains status information representative of the status of the cutting elements. A database server maintains a database of information describing the instrumented cutting machines, stores usage information for each cutting element, and is responsive to queries. A machine monitor is networked to each cutting machine, and includes a processor with a machine monitor component that scans the virtual machine components, maintains a status array including the cutting element status from each virtual machine component, and generates the usage information depending on the status array. A user interface serving component communicates with the database server and the machine monitor, and serves interactive user interface elements containing the cutting element usage information. At least one user interface interpreting component displays the user interface elements.
Accordingly, cutting element usage, and therefore inventory and costs, can be monitored and controlled. In particular, running jobs are monitored, associated with the cutting element in use, and cumulative usage for each cutting element in inventory is computed and recorded.